By R.L. Bynum
Dynamic UNC junior center fielder Vance Honeycutt made the Perfect Game First Team All-America team on Wednesday and was one of two Tar Heels picked by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association as Second Team All-American.
Joining Honeycutt on the NCBWA second team is senior first baseman Parks Harber, with sophomore right-handed relief pitcher Matthew Matthijs making its third team. On Monday, the NCBWA named catcher Luke Stevenson Second Team Freshman All-America and Wednesday he made Perfect Game’s First Team All-Freshman, along with right-handed pitcher Jason DeCaro. Third baseman Gavin Gallaher made PG’s Second-Team All-Freshman.
Carolina redshirt sophomore left-handed closer Dalton Pence, who closed out UNC’s 2–1 Saturday win over West Virginia to earn a Men’s College World Series berth, is on the Perfect Game second team.
The No. 4-seed Tar Heels (47–14), who on Tuesday were the first MCWS team to arrive in Omaha, open the tournament at 2 p.m. ET Friday (ESPN) against No. 12 Virginia (45–15).
Honeycutt, the two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year, is hitting .314 with a school-record 26 home runs (second in the ACC and 12th in the country) while stealing a team-high 28 bases. Honeycutt is Carolina’s all-time leading home run hitter with 62, the fourth-most in ACC history.
Honeycutt pulled off the rare feat of hitting home runs on consecutive pitches, ending Friday night’s 8–6 victory over West Virginia with a two-run home run, then sending the first pitch of Saturday’s 2–1 win over West Virginia over the left-field fence for a home run.
Harber, a second-team All-ACC pick, leads UNC in hitting at .341, is second in home runs (20) and third in RBI (63). Matthijs (12–4, 3.65 ERA) is tied for third in the country in wins. He is 13th among active Division I players in career home runs (54) and RBI (130) and earned his first career All-America honor.
Stevenson is the 11th Tar Heel to make a freshman All-American team and the first catcher to do it since Tim Federowicz in 2006. He walked a team-high 46 times, hitting .283 with 14 home runs, 58 RBI, and a .977 OPS.
Pence (4–1, 2.04 ERA) is tied with Matthijs for the team lead in appearances with 34 and leads the team in saves with eight.
DeCaro (6–1, 3.89 ERA) has been UNC’s Friday starter since mid-April. Gallaher hit .337 with eight home runs and has made some outstanding defensive plays during the NCAA tournament.
Other Men’s College World Series players making Perfect Game’s first team are Tennessee infielders Blake Burke and Christian Moore, Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III, Florida State pitcher Jamie Arnold and Florida two-way player Jac Caglianone.
Men’s College World Series
At Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
Bracket 1
No. 1 Tennessee (3–0), No. 8 Florida State (2–2), No. 4 North Carolina (1–2), No. 12 Virginia (0–2)
Bracket 2
No. 3 Texas A&M (3–0), Florida (2–2), No. 2 Kentucky (1–2), No. 10 N.C. State (0–2)
Pool play
(All listed times are EDT)
Friday’s results
Game 1: No. 4 North Carolina 3, No. 12 Virginia 2
Game 2: No. 1 Tennessee 12, No. 8 Florida State 11
Saturday’s results
Game 3: No. 2 Kentucky 5, No. 10 N.C. State 4, 10 innings
Game 4: No. 3 Texas A&M 3, Florida 2
Sunday’s results
Game 5: No. 8 Florida State 7, No. 12 Virginia 3; Virginia eliminated
Game 6: No. 1 Tennessee 6, No. 4 North Carolina 1
Monday’s results
Game 7: Florida 5, No. 10 N.C. State 4; N.C. State eliminated
Game 8: No. 3 Texas A&M 5, No. 2 Kentucky 1
Tuesday’s result
Game 9: No. 8 Florida State 9, No. 4 North Carolina 5; North Carolina eliminated
Wednesday’s results
Game 10: Florida 15, No. 2 Kentucky 4; Kentucky eliminated
Game 11: No. 1 Tennessee 7, No. 8 Florida State 2; Florida State eliminated
Game 12: No. 3 Texas A&M 6, Florida 0; Florida eliminated
MCWS Finals
(Best-of-3 series)
No. 1 Tennessee (60–13) vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (53–15)
Game 1: Texas A&M 9, Tennessee 5
Game 2 Tennessee, 4, Texas A&M 1
Game 3: Tennessee 6, Texas A&M 5; Tennessee wins national champinship
UNC scores
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 14–15 | Fri.-Sat. | W, 5–1; W, 8–3; W, 4–2 | vs. Texas Tech | 3–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 12–9 | vs. Kansas State | 4–0 |
| 22–24 | Sat.-Mon. | W, 2–0; W, 11–6; W, 6–4 | vs. East Carolina (DBAP, CH, G’ville) | 7–0 |
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 7–4 | vs. VCU | 8–0 |
| 26 | Wednesday | W, 13–4 | vs. N.C. A&T | 9–0 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 16–2 | vs. Stony Brook | 10–0 |
| March | ||||
| 1–2 | Sat.-Sun. | W, 6–1; W, 9–5 | vs. Stony Brook | 12–0 |
| 4 | Tuesday | W, 6–4 (11) | vs. No. 11 Coastal Carolina | 13–0 |
| 7–9 | Fri.-Sun. | L, 13–9; W, 11–1 (7); L, 7–0 | vs. Stanford | 14–2, 1–2 ACC |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 7–3 (10) | at UNCW | 15–2 |
| 14, 16 | Fri., Sun. | L, 8–7; W, 6–4; L, 5–0 | at Louisville | 16–4, 2–4 |
| 19 | Wednesday | L, 5–1 | vs. UConn | 16–5 |
| 21–23 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 5–1; L, 3–2; W, 10–0 (7) | at Boston College | 18–6, 4–5 |
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 13–8 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte | 19–7 |
| 28–30 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 2–0; W, 4–2; L, 4–2 | vs. Miami | 21–7, 6–6 |
| April | ||||
| 1 | Tuesday | W, 11–1 (7) | vs. Gardner-Webb | 22–7 |
| 3–5 | Thur.-Sat. | W, 4–3; L, 9–5; W, 8–7 (14) | vs. Duke | 24–8, 8–7 |
| 8 | Tuesday | W, 12–10 | at Elon | 25–8 |
| 11–13 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 11–1 (7); W, 17–1 (7); W, 3–2 | vs. Wake Forest | 28–8, 11–7 |
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 14–4 (8) | vs. Charlotte | 29–8 |
| 18–20 | Fri-Sun. | W, 9–6; L, 10–6: W, 7–5 | at Virginia Tech | 31–9, 13–8 |
| 25–27 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 15–5; L, 4–2; W, 6–0 | at Pittsburgh | 33–10, 15–9 |
| 29 | Tuesday | W, 13–4 | vs. George Mason | 34–10 |
| 30 | Wednesday | W, 14–3 | vs. Queens | 35–10 |
| May | ||||
| 6 | Tuesday | W, 10–1 | vs. Campbell | 36–10 |
| 8–9 | Thurs.-Fri. | W, 8–1; L, 8–5 | vs. N.C. State | 37–11, 16–10 |
| 15–17 | Thurs.-Sat. | W, 8–3; W, 11–1 (7); L, 5–4 | at No. 7 Florida State | 39–12, 18–11 |
| ACC tournament | Durham | |||
| 23 | Friday | Quarterfinal: W, 7–3 | Boston College | 40–12 |
| 24 | Saturday | Semifinal: W, 7–5 | No. 7 Florida State | 41–12 |
| 25 | Sunday | Final: W, 14–4 | No. 14 Clemson | 42–12 |
| Chapel Hill Regional | ||||
| 30 | Friday | W, 4–0 | Holy Cross | 43–12 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 11–5 | Oklahoma | 44–12 |
| June | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | L, 9–5 | Oklahoma | 44–13 |
| 2 | Monday | W, 14–4 | Oklahoma | 45–13 |
| Chapel Hill Super Regional | Best-of-3 series | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 18–2 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–13 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 10–8 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–14 |
| 8 | Sunday | L, 4–3 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–15 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
tarheeltribune.com 